Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy for studying passive layers on steel rebars immersed in alkaline solutions simulating concrete pores

Present paper deals with the use of the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to identify different processes in the passive layer growth over steel rebar surface immersed in an alkaline media simulating the concrete pore solution. Two cases have been considered: a passive layer spontaneously grown in a high alkaline media and a passive layer assisted by the application of an anodic potential in the same media. The application of electric equivalent circuits allows distinguishing between the different mechanisms occurring in this passive layer when grows in different conditions. An electric equivalent circuit with two RC loops connected in parallel is often used for fitting the EIS diagram…